The Philadelphia Eagles are saddened to announce Jim Johnson has passed away Tuesday afternoon at the age of 68 after a courageous battle with cancer.

A veteran of 22 years as an NFL assistant, Johnson is regarded as one of the top defensive masterminds in National Football League history. Over the last decade, he gained a great deal of praise as the orchestrator of the renowned Eagles defense. His aggressive style kept Philadelphia at or near the top of the NFL in nearly every major defensive category since joining Andy Reid's staff on January 22, 1999.

I always liked the way Johnson coached his defense. I see McDermett has been promoted. I was thinking/hoping if Nolan did well next year and got signed as a head coach, McDermett would be a guy to go after. I preferred him over Nolan to begin with.

Best LB in the draft, IMO. This kid is going to be a leader and a player. He won't make the flashy plays but he'll be a consistent 125 tackle per year type of guy and he will lead that defense. Glad he went to the NFC.

Matt Jones was on pace for 1,000 receiving yards on a mediocre passing attack last season before his three-game suspension kicked in.

With that in mind, the lack of interest in Jones this offseason has been surprising.

Jones said recently, however, that his agent has spoken with the Titans, Bears, Jets, and Cowboys.

"Things are looking good," Jones told 103.7 in Little Rock. "Something probably will happen sooner rather than later. We just want it to be a good fit and somewhere where I can get in there and help a team win."

That none of the teams signed him before camp indicates that he's not exactly a priority. It seems more likely that Jones will join a team after they lose a veteran to an injury.

It's not like Jones is still on the market because of lingering complications about his probation violation. The NFL has already told Jones that he won't be suspended again, and the felony cocaine charges filed against him last year have been dropped.

The Jets are the most intriguing name on the list. The New York Daily News wrote recently that they are looking at the veteran free agent market.

After Jerricho Cotchery, the Jets have a lot of question marks and not a lot of players with a high ceiling. Signing an ascending veteran that has produced like Jones could make rookie Mark Sanchez's introduction to the league a little smoother.

Of course, if the rest of the league thought as highly of Jones' abilities as this post does, he would already have a home.